How to Design a Business Card

Do you want to design a business card for an existing business, or a new business?

If you are designing a business card for an existing business, then you most likely have the business logo available in electronic format, and you have a standardised design and colours, so all that needs to change is the contact details. This is easy, and you only need to send that to us, specifying the quantity required, and we can give you a quote.

If you complete and send the form on the right, we’ll get back to you.

Various business card designs.

If you are creating a business card for a new business, then you need to take various aspects into consideration.

Logo. You need a logo to go on the business card, and you need it in electronic format. In logo design, simpler is better: how many colours in Coca Cola? How complicated is Nike?

Colours. The choice of colours for your logo and business card design will have far-reaching implications. Not only do the colours define your business and how people perceive you, it will also impact on the printing cost for future printing requirements. (In general, the more colours, the more expensive is printing.)

Orientation. Portrait or Landscape? When somebody gives you a business card, do you put it in your wallet, or in a business card holder? What orientation fits best into these holders? Which orientation do you find easiest to read?

Size. The most common sizes for business cards in South Africa are 90mm x 50mm, or 85mm x 55mm. These sizes fit comfortably into normal business card holders and wallets, and are the most economical from a printing aspect.

Single-sided or Double-sided. There is no hard and fast rule for this, but if you decide on double-sided cards, make sure that each sides is complete in it’s own. In other words, keep all the contact information on one side only. Keep all the product/service information on the other side only…..don’t mix the two sides.

Type of board. Don’t let the stunningness of the design and the stunningness of the paper compete with each other. Decide whether you want to impress the recipient with the design, or with the paper.

Information on the card. Clearly you decide what you want to let people know about you, and what you want the business card to do for you, but remember that once the information is on the business card, it is in the public domain, and anybody will have access to it. In general people no longer put a physical address on a business card, unless it is the location where your clients need to go to do business with you. It is not necessary to put a VAT number or Company registration number on the card….a business card is not a legal document. Please don’t put brackets around the area code , eg. (011) 123 4567….the area code is not an optional number, it must be dialed.

Finishing. There are various options for finishing a business card: round corners, laminating, foiling, embossing, varnishing and and spot varnishing (foiling and embossing is not normally done for less than 2000 cards per person). Die-cutting into different shapes is also a finishing option, but think this through carefully in terms of how the card in the unusual shape will fit into regular business card holders, and how much wear and tear the unusual shape can take before it starts looking tatty. (Also a minimum of 2000 cards per person)

Why don’t you fill in the form on the right and let us know if there are any other aspects of business card design that you would like to have clarified.

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